Welcome to the Otaku Spirit Cooking Network where today we show you how to make the simplest of meals for that special Otaku. Add a dash of male protagonist into a bowl of all-girls school, add 15 cups of tropes, don’t forget a carton of archetypes, and blend it until ready to serve. Yes, it comes out to another action harem school show!

Synopsis
The show opens up with a viewing of the previous Blade Dance competition where Ren Ashbell seemingly wipes the floor with her competition, much to the excitement of the crowd that watches her. Fast-forward we find Kamito Kazehaya making a long trip to see the head of the Areishia Spirit Academy after receiving a summons letter from its head Greyworth Ciel Mais.

While on his way, he comes across a water spring where a girl named Claire Rouge is currently cleansing herself for her pact ritual. Though seemingly on accident, Claire takes his actions to mean that he is a perverted peeping tom and quickly springs to the attack. Known as the Keeper of the Red Flame, Claire unleashes a fiery whip that cuts trees in half. After Kamito points out her nakedness, Claire panics and lets go of her whip which cuts a nearby tree to nearly fall on her. Though Kamito jumps to rescue her. His chivalry is lost due to the placement of his hand on her chest and she responds by knocking him out with a burst of her whip.

Coming to, Kamito finds himself being drug by Claire’s whip. After he lies about being able to see up her skirt, she blushes allowing him to break free from her whip. After exchanging introductions, Kamito discovers that Claire is on her way to make a pact with a very dangerous and powerful spirit held in a shrine. Despite this danger, Kamito decides to follow her in and see it for himself.

Once inside the shrine, Claire confronts the sword in the center and asks for a contract from the spirit. Though Kamito notices that the spirit is actually above her and once again jumps to her rescue. Fearing for her death, Kamito stops the blade with his hand and requests a pact. Surprisingly enough it accepts him, and after he regains consciousness Claire claims he stole her pact and demands he become her contracted spirit instead.

After following Claire back to the Areishia Spirit Academy, he makes his way to see Greyworth Ciel Mais who summoned him. Though not before having an exchange with the Sylphid Knights leader Ellis Fahrengart. Quickly Kamito demands the location of a girl he’s searching for, Restia, but Greyworth doesn’t seem interested in that. Instead she enlists Kamito to join her academy and defeat Ren Ashbell in the next Blade Dance competition. For some reason, unknown for now, he accepts this proposal.

Following an awkward tour guide of the academy by Ellis and the noting of his shed living quarters outside the horse barns, Kamito is left to attend his class which is labeled for promising misfits. Though no surprise to Kamito, Claire is one of those misfits as well. Wasting no time Claire takes him down with her whip once again, and after once again pointing out her skirt, she drops in embarrassment allowing Kamito to get free.

When Claire demands he make a pact with her and become his contracted spirit yet again, Kamito begins teasing her with the ritual of contracting with humans. A kiss to seal the deal. Claire becomes struck with extreme panic but is saved by the arrival of the class’s teacher Freya.

As class begins, Kamito is introduced to the students as being a new member of the academy. Rumors begin to be tossed around about how he was able to create a pact and that he may be the reborn Demon Lord Sulaiman who apparently was the only man to make a pact 1000 years ago. Following this, Claire claims that Kamito has already become her slave much to Kamito’s disapproval.

ThoughtsYes, it’s an all too familiar concept with an all too familiar feel. I believe we hit about 5 tropes within the first few minutes, and added another 20 or so to that list by the end of the show. The same crap just with new characters. The jokes it provided also seemed to repeat several times.

So you may be saying to yourself, “Hey, I like these kind of show.. so what if it has tropes?!” Well, there’s still plenty to be had here. The characters are cute, the character designs are great, and there’s some genuinely cute moments buried in there. I may snoop some other episodes of this, but as of now, I just won’t be doing any further impressions on this series as there just isn’t much to talk about here.

Episode 1: The Sword, the School, and the Fire Cat-Girl

…

IMPRESSIONS VERDICT:
Good if you like the usual flavor

Pros:

Some cute moments

Some chuckles

Cons:

Poor premise

Excuse for fanservice

Tropes from start to end

Repeating gags

Impressions are based on a single episode and don’t necessarily reflect the series as a whole. Unless dropped, we will continue to give updates on thoughts and impressions of the series as time goes by.

Co-Founder of OtakuSpirit.com and Co-Host of the OtakuSpirit Animecast. A huge fan of anime since the early 1990s, consuming over 800 shows. While he's late to the collecting scene, he's found a lot of joy in filling his DVD/Blu-ray collection as well as collecting figures. Once a week, he posts unboxing and feature videos on anime goods to YouTube.

Welcome!

Otaku Spirit is dedicated to bringing you the best of anime new and old. We update regularly with news, reviews, podcasts, and other media surrounding our love. It's anime from fans, for fans. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Twitter for regular updates!